ISLAMABAD, Oct 13: Pakistan has entered the final round of discussions with the 18-nation like-minded group of developing countries to form a joint stand for forthcoming ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Doha. Pakistan is taking a stand that it would have no problem working under a new WTO round provided its concerns relating to implementation issues of the Uruguay Round were addressed, a commerce ministry official told Dawn.

A high-level trade delegation of Pakistan led by commerce minister Abdul Razak Dawood has now started deliberations in Singapore in the last limb of a fortnight long visit abroad. The delegation held meetings on Saturday with Japanese trade minister Tekeo Hiranumm, Australian minister for trade Mark Vali MP, minister of trade for Canada Pierre, Singapore minister for trade and industry George Yeo and WTO director general Mike Moore at a pre-WTO conference in Singapore, commerce ministry officials said. The delegation will be holding another meeting with trade commissioner for European Union Pascal Lamy on Sunday separately to look into way and means to expediting the process of withdrawal of textile quota restrictions on Pakistan by the EU.

These officials said that US trade representative Robert Zoellick also accompanied Razak Dawood from Washington to Singapore to hold meetings with trade representatives and ministers.

Trade and commerce ministers of WTO members states are scheduled to meet from November 9 to 13 in Doha with a clear division in developed and developing nations. The WTO general council has already circulated two draft negotiating documents on new global trade outlining new parameters of the developed world and concerns of the developing countries relating to implementation commitments made during the Uruguay Round.

While the developed world, including the United States, have some concerns over agriculture and treatment of unfair trade rules like countervailing duty and subsidy related laws, the developing countries, including Pakistan, call for resolving outstanding issues of the Uruguay Round on the implementation side. Pakistan and some other developing countries supported overall tariff reductions under the World Trade Organization regime instead of regional trade protections that is being considered as negation of the trade liberalization concept.

Pakistan and its like-minded group is strongly opposed to the new issues being advocated by the developed countries under the WTO including those relating to investment, competition, government procurement, trade facilitation and environment unless implementation issues of the previous WTO round were sorted out. They are taking joint position that trade liberalization should be linked to development and implementation issues be resolved first. These countries have already indicated their willingness to discuss issues relating to environment and labour.

They, however, believe that environment and labour are non-trade issues and should not formally come under the WTO discipline. These sources said that while developing countries were forced under the earlier WTO rounds for trade liberalization through reduction in import duties and removal of bans on imports for export growth but this did not help developing countries enhance exports.

The developed countries now wanted a new WTO round, where European Union, United States, Japan and Australian groups had their own interests for mandated review of agriculture, services sector, trade related investment measures (TRIMs) and trade related investment in copy rights and property rights. Meanwhile an official statement said the commerce minister discussed with WTO representatives about the textile quota problems and free trade relations viz-a-viz like-minded group under WTO umbrella.

The minister assured his counterpart that normal activities in the field of exports were continuing in Pakistan as normal and all orders of the foreign buyers were being met on schedule. The minister said that Pakistan would honour all its commitments with the foreign importers as per their demand and standards.

He expressed the hope that WTO conference at Doha would take into account variety of problems faced by Pakistani manufacturers and suitable relief will be provided in this regard.